This invention is directed to a convenient, time saving coffee maker adapted for use in a microwave device. This invention also relates to a relatively inexpensive, simple, disposable, drip-type, microwave coffee maker adapted to dispense freshly brewed coffee directly into a cup, mug or the like.
The purchase and use of microwave ovens is growing geometrically. The realization by the public of the time saving and convenience of microwave ovens is resulting in record sales.
However, microwave coffee makers have not kept abreast with such growth because they do not offer the same advantages. Generally, the microwave coffee makers disclosed in patent literature are of full size, requiring the measuring out of specified amounts of coffee and water, depending on the desired number of cups, inserting the measured amount of coffee in a filtering element, filling a reservoir with the measured amount of water, and then assembling, closing or otherwise sealing the coffee maker before it is placed in a microwave oven. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,601,067, 4,104,957, 4,381,696 and 4,386,109. Plainly absent are the time saving and convenience features expected by users of microwave ovens.
In addition, the coffee makers disclosed in the identified patents generally are relatively complex and expensive. For example, the microwave oven coffee makers of the drip-type commonly include relatively complicated and expensive thermally controlled or manually operated valves. In operation, when the valve opens, water in an upper reservoir flows through coffee grounds in an intermediate filter element and becomes coffee which flows into and is retained in a lower pot or pitcher. The coffee maker is then removed from the microwave oven and coffee is be poured into cups or mugs. For example, the valve in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,957 is a thermally operated valve which has numerous components and is designed to automatically open when the water in the reservoir has been heated to brewing temperatures by the microwave oven. The valve of U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,696, said to be an improvement, is opened manually before the coffee maker is placed in the microwave oven and before the water is at traditional brewing temperatures. Thus, available microwave coffee makers, generally, are relatively complicated and expensive, can prematurely allow the water to flow through the coffee grounds, and are not designed to brew and dispense coffee directly into a drinking receptacle, such as a cup or mug.
In sum, there is a need for a microwave coffee maker which is convenient and time saving, which is relatively inexpensive and simple, and which can dispense freshly brewed coffee directly into a cup, mug or the like while in a microwave oven.